In 2008, Towson University biology professor Rich Seigel, Ph.D., and graduate student Teel Richards-Dimitri ’10 undertook
a status survey on the Northern Map Turtle in Port Deposit, Maryland, at the request
of the state Department of Natural Resources.

The results revealed a small but successful population.

“This is the only place where turtles have successful nested in the entire Susquehanna
River,” said Seigel. “The ‘natural’ places where the turtles nest on sandbars and
islands—almost all the nests are killed by raccoons. We’ve been monitoring the nests
in [town] since about 2009, and only one has been taken by a raccoon.

“It’s a very important piece to the puzzle of preserving the Northern Map Turtle in
the Susquehanna River.”

Northern Map Turtles get their name from the distinctive markings on their shells
that resemble topographical maps.

A turtle nicknamed Rhonda would plod to her nest at the back of Tome Landing Marina’s
parking lot, with an assist from marina employees who cleared a path.

“When we first found out about it, we honestly didn’t believe it,” said Seigel. “We
told the people who were telling us there were turtles coming on shore in the middle
of town that they were crazy.”

Former undergraduate researcher Sarah Cooke ’16 remembered when she was called to
the condos near the marina.

“We got a call from one of the residents, saying that there was a turtle nesting in
their garden. They all knew us as the ‘turtle girls’ and would frequently call us
when they saw map turtles around their houses. [Classmate] Jenna [Cole] and I spent
over two hours watching the turtle and waiting underneath people's decks and houses
for it to finally nest before retrieving it to collect data.”

The Research

Seigel estimates that between 30-40 students have participated in the research project
since its inception. Graduate student Brian Durkin ’17, who earned a B.S. in biology
from TU in 2014, is one.

“It’s become increasingly more important to have research experience in terms of gaining
employment—especially in getting into grad school,” he noted. “Graduate schools want
someone who can come in and be productive and research right off the bat. Being able
to bring in undergraduates and give them experience is important, and I like helping
the undergraduates.”

Jenna Cole ’16, another undergraduate researcher, is now a graduate student at the
University of Florida with Cooke.

“This project allowed me to experience the realities of research,” she said. “Things
hardly ever go the way you expect, and you will have to have a backup plan for your
backup plan. It improved my critical thinking skills, my decision-making skills and
my endurance. Most importantly, it has increased my confidence.”

Seigel agrees.

“Students can’t get jobs unless they have undergraduate research experience. Universities
are where opportunities for that occur because you have people doing creative, scholarly
research that involves students.”

TU has had a number of corporate partners to help fund paid student research positions,
including Exelon Corporation and the Maryland State Highway Administration.

“In terms of who we have for partnerships, it’s been terrific,” Seigel said. “Obviously
the town of Port Deposit itself has been a big partner. Everyone from their Chamber
of Commerce to the local citizens to the local homeowners associations and businesses
and restaurants has all been helping us out in a variety of ways.”

A sign displayed at Tome's Landing Marina.The Tome Gas House prior to the renovation and re-purposing (viewed from the side).The Tome Gas House is now the Visitors’ Center and TU Research and Education Center
(Building is viewed from the front).A view of the living shoreline and turtle nesting beach inside the exclusion fencing.

The Renovation

One of those ways was the renovation and repurposing of the 166-year-old Tome Gas
House into the Visitors’ Center and TU Research and Education Center. The project
was supported by donations and grants from the Maryland Historic Trust, along with
the Maryland State Highway Administration, Video Lottery Terminal fund, Maryland Department
of Housing and Community Development, Dillow Architect Associates and the Port Deposit
Chamber of Commerce.

The first floor is a visitors’ center and outlet for the Bainbridge U.S. Naval Training
Center museum. The second floor is exclusively for TU researchers who use closed circuit
TV to monitor turtles’ nesting grounds and a spotting scope to watch basking. The
researchers also mark and measure any turtles that get caught and teach the public
about conducting research on an endangered species.

TU's Office of Partnerships & Outreach worked with Seigel and Port Deposit to formalize a partnership and develop the idea
for an interactive display to highlight the town's rich heritage and the natural resources
of the Lower Susquehanna River.

In spring 2017, the Office of Partnerships & Outreach worked to write, design and
implement an interactive kiosk that is now installed on the first floor of the gas
house.

“Apart from the Northern Map Turtle, Port Deposit has a rich history that goes back
to 1608 when Capt. John Smith first explored the area,” said TU Associate Vice President of Outreach Bobbie Laur. “The kiosk showcases that history and the town's importance to Maryland.”

The renovation also included a second-story balcony from which researchers and the
public can watch the turtles basking without interfering.

“One of the key things in building the new environmental education center is what
we call the wildlife exclusion fence or what people call the ‘turtle safety fence,’”
said Seigel. “It will surround where the turtles come out of the river and provide
an area that has suitable soil to nest but prevent them from getting out.

“We’ll no longer have our hearts in our mouths as we watch a turtle crawl underneath
a UPS truck, which has happened. The UPS driver missed the turtle, but we could have
lost a very old and very productive female.”

A conservation success story

Both Seigel and Durkin noted the unusual “win-win” situation the town, the conservation
effort, and the turtles find themselves in because of the 10-year-old partnership.

“It’s a conservation success story because we don’t have an opposition,” said Durkin.
“It’s really built on the outreach—initially from Teel just talking to people in town—and
it’s really snowballed from there.”

Seigel noted that when an endangered species that lives in a densely populated area,
it often doesn’t fare well.

“Here we have turtles nesting in an economic development zone, and we think the outcome
of this will be better economic development for the town of Port Deposit and protection of an endangered species—a true win-win. When you have people who have
open minds and who are willing to listen to each other, both economic development
and endangered species protection are possible.”

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel's priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland, BTU: Partnerships at Work for Greater Baltimore, and Strategic Plan Alignment.